WHEELING, WV —. The great Capitol Theatre is scheduled to close and can be yours for $850,000.

Nearly 80 years after opening its brass-trimmed doors, the Capitol Music Hall — West Virginia’s largest, most famous and arguably most beautiful theater — is for sale and on the verge of closing.

A brief reprieve brokered by Gov. Joe Manchin III and Wheeling Mayor Nicholas Sparachane is expected to keep the historic hall open long enough for the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra to hold the final concert of its Masterworks series May 18.

That’s what the marquee read on the Village Art Theatre. And so closes one of Chicagoland’s oldest surviving cinemas. It began operation in 1916 as the Germania, later changing its name to the Parkside. It was also known as the Gold Coast, the Globe and most recently alternated between being called Village and Village Art. Up until the 1990s, it remained a single screen and was well known for showing off-beat fare, second run fare, and midnight movies. In the 1990s, it was carved up into 4 screens, perhaps to better compete with the nearby Piper’s Alley, and losing much of its character in the process.

In the late 1990s, Village Entertainment incorporated and started taking over other cinemas, beginning with the Village North, then many theatres which were a part of the ill-fated Meridian chain, and most recently the Lincoln Village and the North Riverside. Village’s finances and business practices were questionable, however, and no sooner would Village Entertainment take over a place, it would close several others. Since 2006, Village Entertainment closed the Golf Glen, the Pemberton, the Lakehurst, the Belvedere and a few others.

SAN ANTONIO, TX — A sad day has arrived in San Antonio. Santinkos Theatres announced today that the Mission Drive-In will not open for the ‘07 season and that things are up in the air in regards to the future of the theatre due to some events this past winter.

Back in January while the theatre was closed for the winter, some vandals broke into the concession stand and destroyed all of the equipment including all four projectors and its fm sound system with damages over $500,000.

Santikos has pulled the Mission from its website and they did say that they would re-evaluate its value this winter or in the spring of ‘08. But from what I can see, the only thing that will be on at the Mission next spring are bulldozers cause Santikos Theatres did say that the property was not really making money.

It truly is a sad day as the Mission was the last remaining drive-in in the San Antonio area.

WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA — The Capitol Theatre has filed for bankruptcy and officially closed on March 14. A bankruptcy trustee is expected to change the theater’s locks and liquidate the theater’s assets. Creditors are expected to meet with three weeks.

Because the theater is a heritage site and a 1993 agreement with the city of Windsor provided $1.3 million to save the theater from the wrecking ball, the city of Windsor is expected to take over the building.

VICKSBURG, MS — Just want to pass one about the Pemberton Cinema 4 which is the only cinema in Vicksburg, MS. The Pemberton Cinema Square 4 which had been owned by Regal Group and now Village Entertainment. Just a few days ago it has been closed permanentaly at Pemberton Square Mall because of high rent issues with CBL Associaites of Chattanooga, TN.

Over the years the Pemberton Square Four has never been upgraded. Projectors broke down, leaky roofs, etc. Now for the first time in 100 years, Vicksburg is once again without a cinema.

One truth I can tell of the Pemberton 4 is it never got any of the important films like “United 93” or Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”. Those are just examples. Poor marketing on behalf of the cinema owners can be blamed as well. But not upgrading equipment and expanding its size contributed to its demise. Before this surprise closing happened, Village Entertainment had plans to refurbish it. But high rent made this 21 year old cinema the victim.

ATLANTA, GA — The Garden Hills Theatree is closing after about 65 years of near constant operation. This is yet another example of the inability of old single screen theatres to compete with the megaplexes of today, even in the “art house” niche.

To read more about this, visitAccess Atlanta. Registration is required and it is good through 10/30/06 when it will move to the archives where you will have to pay to see it.

Several personal histories and a detailed description of this site are in the comment section of its Cinema Treasures page.